Tar sands: a beautiful but deadly source of oil

This article was taken from the October 2014 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.

These pretty patterns are tar sands in Alberta, Canada, origin of the Keystone oil-pipeline system and target of heavyweight criticism from scientists. "Tar sands are the dirtiest step into the world of unconventional fossil fuels," claims climate scientist and professor at Columbia University, James Hansen. A proposed extension means 830,000 barrels of this oil would flow daily across the Canada-US border to Steele City, Nebraska, 1,897km away.

Advertisement

Extracting the oil involves mining vast tracts of land, leaving reservoirs of toxic waste. "Tar sands are much worse than conventional oil, because it requires a lot of extra energy to get them out of the ground and process them," says Hansen. Owner TransCanada's spokesperson, Davis Sheremata, demurs: "New data shows the oil sands are not much worse than conventional oil. There are a number of conventionally produced oils with a higher carbon intensity, including oil from countries such as Nigeria."

Hansen is not alone in his opposition, though. More than 100 scientists and economists jointly signed a letter to the White House in April. "This is a place where we cannot go if we hope to leave a healthy planet for our young people," he adds.

This article was first published in the October 2014 issue of WIRED magazine